INEC plans November mock accreditation for 2027 elections

The Nigeria — Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announced plans to conduct a nationwide mock accreditation exercise in November 2026 to test the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and other electoral equipment ahead of Nigeria's 2027 general elections. INEC Chairman Joash Amupitan disclosed this during courtesy visits from delegations of the Canadian High Commission and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAS) at the commission's headquarters in Abuja. The mock exercise is part of INEC's preparations, which also include deploying approximately 1.4 million ad-hoc personnel across over 176,000 polling units. Amupitan cited the successful August 15, 2026 Osun State governorship election as a benchmark, noting that 94.5% of polling units opened on time and BVAS performance and result transmission via the IReV portal were successful. INEC also established a dedicated Artificial Intelligence Unit to enhance data management, voter registration, and results transmission while countering AI-generated disinformation. The commission plans to participate in the Global Conference on Responsible AI and Elections in Ottawa, Canada, from September 9-11, 2026, and requested expedited visa processing for its officials. Additionally, INEC signed the First National Peace Accord on Issue-Based Campaigns with the National Peace Committee on August 18, 2026. The commission emphasized priorities including technological advancement, electoral inclusion for persons with disabilities, women, and youth, institutional capacity building, and countering misinformation. A voter revalidation exercise was deemed necessary but could not be conducted before the 2027 elections due to time constraints.